16 Take It As My First and Last Kindness

The air around them was stagnant. Shouko blinked a few times, her mind couldn't comprehend what this man was saying.

In the end, only one word got out of her mouth.

"Why?"

Kyoya let go of the lock of her hair that was still circled around his finger before he reached out both hands to tighten the shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

"Why don't we speak later?" Kyoya glanced at the setting sun outside the windows. The horizon had been dyed with the brilliant color of amber. "If you don't mind, why don't we go for a short stroll before dinner? The sunset is especially beautiful today."

Because you smiled at me.

"Oh... Okay."

Since she herself was enticed by the magnificent view, Shouko accepted his suggestion.

She took one last sniff of the flower bouquet before she handed it to Noriko for placing it into a vase. She didn't see the man's satisfied smile seeing her treated the flowers with care.

Both of them went downstairs. The French doors of the lounge were opened, revealing the glimmer of the sun setting.

"Ah, Kyoya," Shouko looked at her hand that was now held by him. "My leg has healed properly. You don't have to hold me anymore."

Kyoya chuckled. "Can't I hold my wife's hand?"

Looking at his tender smile, Shouko could only relent to him.

They walked slowly under the row of ginkgo trees. Kyoya tilted up his head, looking at the green leaves.

"It's still early but I hope the leaves would turn golden soon," He said quietly.

Shouko too was hoping the same. She was eager to see such a breathtaking view here.

Sunset. A sea of falling ginkgo leaves. The sound of the leaves crunching under someone's feet. Crisp air. A cup of warm tea. A freshly baked pound cake. Chestnuts. Marshmallows.

There were so many things to be anticipated.

Kyoya glanced at his little wife who had not spoken since they began walking.

"Are you cold?" Concern was faintly laced in his voice.

"En?" Shouko instinctually lifted up her head. She smiled, "No. I'm just thinking when would these leaves become a sea of gold."

Hearing that, Kyoya chuckled.

"Earlier, you asked why did I give the Yuasas a lot of money. It's not simply for the investment. I just want to silently remind them that you were no longer under their control."

"Meaning?" She still couldn't grasp what he was talking about.

Kyoya paused, his mind was searching for the memory of five years ago.

At that time, he was in the meeting room of his company with Father Yuasa and his assistant. Even though that man had just become his father-in-law, it was clear that Kyoya was unwilling to bring him inside the president's office.

Of course, the older man was actually dissatisfied with the treatment.

"Kyoya," Father Yuasa sounded so stiff when he called out his new son-in-law's name. He sat with a straight posture as if he was inferior to this young man. "Are you... has begun to invest in Yuasa Group?"

It has been the third day of their marriage yet there was no sign of Kyoya injecting capital into the deteriorating Yuasa Group. The situation became more dire day by day, urging Father Yuasa to come personally to meet this son-in-law of his.

It was actually a degrading thing for an elder to behave like this but he couldn't afford to offend this young man.

Kyoya who was sipping his tea in leisure appeared indifferent to the man's ashen face. He calmly placed the teacup on the saucer before he cast a lazy gaze toward his new father-in-law. From the look in his eyes, it was evident that he didn't place this man in his sight.

After a long period of suffocating silence, Kyoya finally spoke.

"One billion would be wired to the account."

Father Yuasa's eyes widened in surprise after hearing the amount. Yuasa Group just needed a few hundred million but who would have guessed that one billion would be landed on his lap easily?

Indeed, it was right to marry into the Kashino family even though it was a pity this young man chose that girl. Until now, he couldn't believe that the illegitimate daughter of his was chosen instead of his precious legitimate daughter.

But, since Old Master Kashino didn't mind that girl's status, he would just happily accepted the money.

"But, on one condition."

Kyoya's next words froze Father Yuasa's beaming smile. A bad hunch sprouted in his heart.

"What... it is, my son-in-law?"

Kyoya paid no heed to the name. He spoke as indifferently as earlier.

"Your family would no longer bother my wife and meet her without my permission."

Huh?

"What... what do you mean by bothering?" At this time, Father Yuasa had begun to stutter. "She's my daughter, of course, it's alright for us to meet."

His thin lips curled up into a cold sneer. His eyes glinted dangerously, sending chills all over the older man's body.

"Isn't my wife an unwanted daughter?"

Father Yuasa's face turned pale. He coughed once before he laughed awkwardly. "Ha ha... what are you talking about, son-in-law? Since when... did Shouko an unwanted daughter? I treasure her as much as I treasure my other daughter, Ono. I love her..."

Kyoya chuckled but the sound of it was enough to stop Father Yuasa from speaking.

"You think I don't know how she has been treated all these years?"

Father Yuasa was stunned, he couldn't refute the words at all but it wasn't like him to surrender to the accusation even though it was the truth.

But, before he could speak, Kyoya beat him to it.

"My wife didn't mention anything about it so don't accuse her of anything. I have my own way to find out all of her histories. She might be an illegitimate daughter but she is the one I took as my wife. So, from now on, I don't want you to keep bothering her."

"Err... son-in-law..."

"Even one billion is wasted to such a scum father like you," Kyoya coldly spat out the words. He didn't give the older man any chance to defend himself at all. "Treat it as my first and last kindness. After this, you could dream of your company going bankrupt if my wife becomes sad because of you lot again."

From the start until finish, Kyoya emphasized the words of 'my wife'. They had just got married and barely knew each other but by this recognition, it wasn't wise for Father Yuasa to keep on denying it.

If he offended this man, he couldn't even get one cent!

Once he was done speaking, Kyoya stood up and walked directly to the doors. His gaze was icy cold, he didn't even look at Father Yuasa's direction. One could see that although he was the son-in-law of the Yuasa family, he didn't view it that way.

Assistant Kuroda glanced at the departing figure of his boss. He understood why did his president act that way toward this supposed father-in-law of his. After investigating the lady boss's past, his boss was actually contemplated not giving Yuasa Group the investment.

"I'll process the capital injection to your company, President Yuasa. You may leave now."

And then, Kuroda quickly escaped the awkward scene.

It had been five years, but that day was still clear in his mind.

Kyoya glanced at his wife. They were now sitting on a wooden bench under one of the trees. Seeing her in a daze after listening to him, he couldn't help but smile softly.

"Shouko."

"En... yes?"

Kyoya chuckled. He knew she was surprised by what he had told her.

"I want to make it clear right now," He spoke again. "Even though we got married due to such a circumstance, you're still my wife. The person I've vowed to respect and take care of. I couldn't lightly treat you like you're an outsider."

"But, the amount..."

"I gave the amount wasn't because I have too much at my disposal but because you are my wife," Kyoya emphasized again. "You're worth much more than that but your parents didn't see it. They mistreated you and I hate such parents. If I could, I want you to sever your tie with them but I know you couldn't do so so, at the very least, I want you to be happy and feel safe with me."

As his gentle voice drifted in the air, Shouko found that her view that she had for this man was becoming better and better.

This man... do I really deserve him?

Even when he barely knew her at that time, he had treated her as his wife without having any need to pretense. It was hard to not be touched by his gesture.

"Kyoya, I'm just an illegitimate daughter," Shouko smiled wearily. It was too overwhelming to suddenly know that he had been treating her right since the earlier days of their marriage.

"Why did you agree to marry me? Even though Grandpa requested it, weren't you afraid your family's reputation being stained by me?"

In high society, the existence of illegitimate children was taboo to most families. It was so rare to have a man of his caliber agreed to marry a bastard like her.

Kyoya pursed his lips, he saw the tears that she was holding back. He gently caressed his thumb at the corner of her right eye, his gaze deepened.

"No one has the right to scorn my wife and I don't need to marry an heiress to maintain my family's reputation. I'm capable of upholding the reputation myself."

The meaning was clear. Whoever he got to marry, it had nothing to do with their background.

Shouko laughed helplessly, she really couldn't find faults in him.

A small ripple began stirring in her heart.

Once the sun had set, the air turned a lot colder. They went inside to seek warmth. While waiting for Kyoya to change into home clothes, Shouko took a look at the bouquet that Noriko had placed properly inside a beautiful vase.

Peonies and baby's breath. A happy marriage and everlasting love, as well as purity.

She wondered when would she get her memory back. She was eager to recall him from her forgotten memories.

Little by little, the thoughts didn't sound unappealing to her.

He was still a stranger at this moment yet if she thought properly, it would be her loss if she rejected him. Where else could she get a considerate husband who loved her dearly even when she was in this state?

As the chefs prepared a hearty warm meal, both of them took their sweet time enjoying their meal before both of them retreated to the master bedroom. Shouko had been accustomed to having Kyoya as a chatting partner after dinner. Right now, they were served with desserts and tea brewed by Old Toshio.

"Kyoya, do you like sweets?" Shouko asked once she saw him taking his sixth chocolate chip cookie after finishing a slice of lemon cheesecake.

"I do," Kyoya admitted with a faint smile. "In fact, I used to bring the cookies and cakes that you baked to the company."

"What?" Shouko was stunned. "I did?"

Kyoya nodded.

Shouko thought of it again and found it was not a weird thing since he was her husband. Her culinary skills were decent enough to be able to cook a few dishes and bake sweets. It was all thanks to the chefs in the Yuasa family home.

Since she was required to help around, she took the time to learn how to cook and bake from the kind-hearted chefs.

"That..." Shouko didn't know what to say. She lowered her head, both of her hands were holding the sides of the warm teacup.

Kyoya looked at her in silence. He understood what was bothering her.

"You don't have to force yourself," After some time, he uttered out the words in tenderness. "Even if you couldn't remember it, you could take this time to learn about us again."

Shouko quietly nodded her head.

Today, she had learned so much. She learned that this husband of hers was so considerate to her.

After spending time with Shouko, Kyoya went back to his room. He was in a good mood compared to yesterday. He felt like he could sleep easily without having to sneak inside the master bedroom.

Kyoya took his time reviewing his schedule for tomorrow. Assistant Kuroda was so efficient. He had rearranged half of his schedule to Ryota and a few directors. He was basically free within this month.

His assistant deserved a raise.

Kyoya brushed his teeth and washed his face. As he was getting ready to bed, his conversation with Shouko today came to his mind. His mood felt a lot lighter.

At this moment, he was certain they could get back to their happy days.

As Kyoya was entertaining his thoughts, his phone that was lying on the bedside table rang a notification. It was a message.

Who it is?

Kyoya extended his long hand, grabbed the phone and swiped the lock screen off. An unread message with an unsaved number was displayed on the screen.

Even though he didn't save the number, he knew by his heart whose was it.

She...

With his fingers trembling, he opened the message.

Hello, my dear. Care to pay me a visit?

She was... finally back.

The phone fell from his hand, landed directly on the floor. His eyes lost his focus as he stared at the fallen phone. His back began throbbing with pain.

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The author has something to say:

They got married in a hurry yet once Kyoya got to know his new wife's past, he didn't hesitate to side with her. They were still treating each other with the politeness of strangers yet in his heart, he has regarded Shouko as his only wife in this lifetime.

Because, to Kyoya at that time, it didn't matter if they were in love or not. He just needed a wife and possibly a child to be his heir, love wasn't an important thing to him who had lived in solitary all of his life.